Jonsson: No Sarce but survival scrap goes on

Fleetwood Town’s Eggert Jonsson admits the side is missing instrumental midfielder Antoni Sarcevic but says they need to get on with the task in hand as their fight for survival hots up.

Sarcevic picked up a thigh strain in the 2-1 win over Gillingham earlier this month and in the three games since Town have only picked up one point, with a draw against Sheffield United and back-to-back defeats against Burton Albion and Walsall.

Forward David Ball, Victor Nirennold and new boy Thomas Grant have all filled the void left by Sarcevic and teamed up with Jonsson and Jimmy Ryan in the midfield three.

Jonsson says it has been tough but that the opportunity is there to impress whilst Sarcevic – who is on the verge of returning to training – recovers.

He said: “We are missing Sarcevic because he is the sort of player that can make a difference going forward.

“He has been playing a lot for us, it has been tough and hopefully he is back soon enough.

“But whoever it is who goes out injured, it is up to the next man coming in to impress and play well and prove he should be playing.

“We have missed him but we just have to get on with it.”

Jonsson praised 20-year-old Grant after the Scot made his debut in the unfortunate 1-0 defeat to Walsall on Tuesday.

He said: “I thought Thomas did really well playing his first game, it is always hard to come in.

“It was good to have him in there.

“The only disappointing thing is that we didn’t get anything from the game but I think as a team we played pretty well. It sounds stupid saying that when we didn’t get anything from the game but I thought we did all right and that Tommo did brilliantly.”

Town host Barnsley at Highbury this afternoon and after playing the Tykes three times already this term, Jonsson says they know what to expect.

He said: “We know what Barnsley are all about. They have been on a good run, we have played them a lot of times.

“We know the kind of game it will be and what we have to do. At the end of the day it is about doing it on the pitch when it matters and we will hopefully do that.”

Jonsson was part of the Wolverhampton Wanderers side that were relegated from the Championship in 2013 and so he says he knows all the perils of trying to beat the drop. The 27-year-old Icelandic star, who joined Fleetwood in 2015 says 19th-placed Town are nowhere near being safe and that their League One fate is in their own hands with 10 games left and a three point cushion from the drop zone before today’s 3pm kick-off.

He said: “We are not happy with the last couple of games. The situation we are in at the moment we need to get results.

“We have been playing quite well, maybe apart from the Burton game, but we are happy with the way we play.

“But at the end of the day it is all about getting wins and realising that we are in this situation for a reason and not forgetting that.

“We just need to make sure we take today’s game as it comes and not thinking it is going to be easy or it is going to be safe because you know what games are like in this league, it is going to be hard.

“You need to work hard for all the points you are going to get.

“On Tuesday night it was hard to take because at the end of the day we played much better than Walsall but got nothing from the game.

“We need to make sure that we get something from games from now until the end of the season. It is the same old cliché that you just take the next game and that is all we are focusing on at the moment.

“It is in our own hands but we just need to realise that we are still not safe yet, and nowhere near being safe and make sure we win.

“I got relegated with Wolves so I know what it is about and we are obviously not in that bad a situation but we are nowhere near being safe. We are playing well but we just need to win.”